Everyone has to give live presentations at some point in their career. For most, it’s a painful experience. But, if you can pull off a good live presentation, this is a skill that can bring you many benefits. Good public speakers are good because they prepare and practice. It’s not something you’re necessarily born with, […]

At some point in your professional life, you may find yourself being interviewed. It’s a wonderful opportunity that puffs up your ego. Finally, someone wants to know what you think! But if you’ve never been interviewed before, you may not realize there’s a bit of preparation involved. You may also find yourself nervous when the […]

There’s more to networking than shaking hands and exchanging business cards. Done right, networking helps you forge long-lasting and profitable business relationships. Here are some useful tips: Have a plan. Make a commitment to yourself to connect with a specific number of people. Three to five people is realistic. Make sure the contacts are “new” […]

Leadership is probably one of the most talked about business concepts, but the least understood. Leadership is about getting things done and helping people reach their potential. Some organizations do a poor job helping people reach their potential. One reason for this is old-fashioned leadership techniques or “leadership mythology.” A myth is something that is […]

Most of us at some point have attended a meeting that drones on and on; the meeting where everyone sits fiddling with his or her smart phone; the meeting that Darren hijacks; or the meeting where almost everyone in the room is wondering the same thing: Why am I here? Meetings fill an increasing […]

Listening is, without a doubt, the most important business skill you should master. It’s crucial to success in any situation, whether it be a group meeting, an interview, giving or receiving feedback, or handling customer complaints. You must understand fully what the other party says, the way it’s said, the motivation behind it, and the […]

Few companies realize the importance of customer service. It can literally make or break your business. Even if you offer the best products at the lowest price, your unresponsive or incompetent handling of customers can ruin you. Here are a few of the reasons excellent customer service is critical to your business success. Your Current […]

You always hear marketers saying that the best email newsletter content is content that engages the audience. What exactly does this term ‘engage’ mean? It essentially means that your readers do more than simply read your content. When content engages, it gets the reader involved and urges them to take some kind of action. That’s […]

No matter how open your lines of communication are, it’s inevitable that communication will sometimes go wrong. It may seem absolutely impossible to reach the other party, as if everything you say is misunderstood and twisted around to be an attack (or vice versa). There are ground rules to communicating in a conflict and, if […]

1. Communicate openly, clearly and consistently with your people, your peers and your own manager. 2. Encourage and practice frequent 2-way communication taking care to be a good listener and show that you value the opinions of your people 3. Set a good example and be a great role model 4. Ask people for their […]

When most people think of writing a business plan, they envision a long, extensively detailed document with masses of data and financial forecasts. While that may be the requirement for people seeking outside funding, a business plan doesn’t have to be that complicated to be effective. It provides the blueprint for how you intend to […]

Offers in email marketing often have a due date. They say that this offer is only good until a certain date, so act now. But if the offer is for a service or digital product, why is there scarcity? Can’t an unlimited number of digital files be downloaded? There are two reasons why we use […]